Rocket League is becoming a real-life Hot Wheels set – CNET

The Rocket League video game is turning into a real-life Hot Wheels set.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Rocket League pits rocket-powered Battle-Cars into intense soccer matches on nearly every video game system, and now it’s becoming a real-life Hot Wheels set.

The Hot Wheels Rocket League RC Rivals set, announced Tuesday by game developer Psyonix and Mattel, recreates the arena from the video game, the Octane and Dominus Battle-Cars as well as the Rocket League ball. The $180 (roughly £130, AU$230) package also includes a boost pad that charges up the cars as well as the ball, and the scoreboard will track any goals that are scored with sound effects.

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Cars included in the set are based on the Octane and Dominus Battle-Cars from the Rocket League video game.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Both cars are controlled through Bluetooth from a phone or tablet, so no remote controllers are needed. Game codes that can be used with a separate copy of the Rocket League video game will also be included, which will unlock access to unique in-game items that are being announced at a later date.

My colleague Bridget Carey and I played an early version of the Rocket League set Friday at Toy Fair 2018 in New York, which feels a lot like playing foosball, but with the remote-controlled cars instead of rows of players. The cars can be set to a variety of speeds (we were at speed 3 of 10), and the app includes a turbo boost function just like the game.

Sound effects that will match the tabletop experience to the video game are still being added, and Mattel representatives mentioned that the early version we saw will likely get tweaked quite a bit before its release during the holidays late this year.

The Rocket League set isn’t the first time Mattel’s Hot Wheels brand has turned a video game into a real-life set. The company released a Mario Kart-themed track last year that it debuted at San Diego Comic-Con 2017, complete with the ability to hurl virtual shells and drop bananas.